It's Fate

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* Naboo, E.S. *

It is only now that one can appreciate the extent of the work Sin and Hortad have done on my army. You can see it from the inside, so to speak. Everything from shoe laces to dry rations has been standardised.

The Acclamators landed thirty minutes later, on the outskirts of Theed. Apparently the negotiations had gone faster than Shin had anticipated. I didn't bother to contact him, instead waiting meekly with the others for the flight to depart. However, there was no signal. In the meantime, we had already played sabbak, talked about women, had a snack, and even washed our hands of the rest of the group. Of course, the main comments went to Sabina and her girl group. An hour after landing we were called to the briefing room, where Sabine, who was still looking at me with displeasure, gave us instructions. Nothing remarkable - we were told the good news - we are now Tid's cover team, we will be on duty on schedule, six hours a day, two days in a row. A good schedule of the pre-war time - six hours, sleep, six more, then two days of sausage making. The news was greeted with great joy - the pilots were already sitting on the ship.

I've only just arrived here, and the pilots have been on ships for three months. I learnt from the guys that they first had a Venator, which they had to change to "this wretched thing". The Acclamator was indeed extremely uncomfortable compared to the main aircraft carrier, but there was no choice.

* * *

The next day it was the turn of me and... Sabin.

I learnt this from the duraplast sheet with the duty schedule printed on the cabin wall. My watch was from four to ten in the morning, Nabooan time. Before it started, I just slept. It would be nine a.m. ship's time - space people, military people, rarely live by planetary time charts - often the time of the home port or Coruscant time is taken as ship's time.

When the time came, I dressed in advance, an hour before, tidied up and ran. I took a quick look round the ship - just at that time Sabin came into the hangar.

- Hey, Henya?

- Henya, Mistress Captain," I corrected her, "what can I do for you?

- I've been meaning to ask you. Where did you learn to fly like that?

- Talent. I never learnt.

- Oh how? - she raised her black eyebrow expressively, "You live well. You were assigned to us from Koros?

- Yeah. Let's get you out of here first, and then we can talk. Ears." I nodded at the techs around me.

Sabin nodded and we climbed into the fighters. The patrol route was at an altitude of seventy kilometres - enough to get into orbit fast enough, at the boundary between orbit and atmosphere.

When we had already taken a stable course around the protected zone, Sabina, who was walking ahead of me, asked:

- So are you going to answer my question?

- Yes, from Koros. Actually, I preferred the free life more... I didn't stay long on planets.

- I see," Sabine's voice through the speakers was surprisingly clear. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mandalmotors had put in some good audio equipment.

We flew in a circle, a radius of about five hundred kilometres, around Tidus, descending slightly and then climbing again.

Since there was no other entertainment, we had to make small talk. I thought for a moment, and apologised:

- Sabine?

- Yes?

- I'd like to apologise. You know, for that prank. I don't think it would have been good for you as a commander.

- Never mind. It's not your fault you're a better flyer, is it?

- Maybe. But you should have done it one-on-one, not in public, to show off your skills. It's just the circumstances.

- I see. Okay, I'm sorry.

Sabina turned out to be a very erudite person - at least the remaining five hours of the duty passed quickly, we, not having received orders, chatted to the point that we met our replacements in the sky. Sabine yelled at me for chatting up the commander, but without rancour, and sent the fighter into a steep downward dive, opening the armour plate petal to full. I repeated her manoeuvre and we dropped from altitude right into our transport's deployment area. From above, the tide looked wonderfully good - a neat city, slender streets, four big grey carcasses of transports on its outskirts, and some kind of construction site there as well. Apparently, the military specialists had already started work. The pay was quite high by the standards of the Outer Rim world, and they took in inexperienced, healthy young men of both sexes.

We flew into the hangar and set up the fighters. Sabina turned to me:

- 'Hey, Henya, come here...' - When I got closer, she asked, "I was wondering how the squadron will spend its free time.

- I have no idea," I shrugged, "I'm not a gauge, and I haven't asked the guys. Though I bet they'll hit the local pubs, hit on the local girls....

- Too bad," she frowned, "I don't want to get in trouble with them. And that always happens, with any group.

- The usual male activities," I shrugged, "By the way, commander, how will you spend your leisure time?

She looked at me with a heavy, probing gaze. The level of sternness was off the charts, but she gave in:

- I don't know yet. I won't accept a date.

- Oh, no," I waved my hands in the air, "I have no luck with girls. But I don't drink and I don't want to hit on anyone, so I'll suggest that you spend some time in the city. It's boring alone.

Sabina sighed heavily. She hadn't decided to send me away yet, but she didn't want to order me to go and not peck her brains out.

- All right, we'll go see the Tide. But keep your hands to yourself.

It took us about an hour to pack, change, get ready, and head out into town. There's bound to be a place in Theed where we can pass some time. I tucked my power away, so as not to be discovered, and turned to Erdva:

- Well, my iron friend, where is there somewhere to pass the evening?

- Your choice. Theatres, museums, art galleries... some of the best in the outer ring, by the way.

- Chommel is actually on the border, but we'll see," I nodded, "show me the way, Susanin.

Sabina came to the exit after twenty minutes. In that time I had time to run to the supply people and bargain with them for an X-34 speeder, just like Luke Skywalker's. Only new. Sabine came out half an hour later, getting dressed. She was wearing a uniform, too, but her face was done up. I don't understand these women - she was the one who'd chewed my brains out by telling me not to go to her, and for some reason she's making it look like we're going on a date. Where's the logic in that?

- Oh, you found transport? - she raised one eyebrow, "and I thought we'd have to walk.

- We can walk. But I'd rather take a speeder.

By the way, Sabina looked not much better - at least put on the podium, or in the theatre, to play the role of a femme fatale. She was wearing earrings in the shape of Mythosaurus shards, the universal symbol of the Mandalorians. Unlike her, I didn't wear any symbols, and no one asked me if I was one of them.

- Erdva? - I looked at the astrodroid, "Dock.

Erdva docked with the speeder, Sabine jumped into the passenger seat and we flew...

* Naboo, Tid, E.S. * *

Unexpected is how one might characterise our arrival in Theed. Not even a day after it was announced to the locals that Naboo had made a military alliance, the military of the Koros Empire has already started to appear on the streets of Tidus. However, they were mostly those who didn't have jobs yet - the bulk of them were still on the ships. We visited a gallery of local paintings... well, what can I say - interesting. Informative and in some places very good. I saw a couple of paintings. But afterwards... afterwards we went to the park, to chat, to share impressions, and just to have a rest, to sit down. What we didn't expect was to be surrounded by locals in the park. The population was very friendly and didn't shy away from us, which is already rare. Sabina was pulled away from me - in general people had a lot of questions and everyone wanted to ask. It ended with Sabina pulling out a blaster and shooting a couple of times into the sky, shouted:

- Everybody calm down! This is not the place to be! Any questions?

Half of the interested and just gawkers scattered, but the most persistent remained. I was finally able to approach the commander. The main question was, "Will there be a war?" A dozen people asked him one way or another.

- 'There will be,' I shrugged, ahead of Sabina, 'Amidala will not back down.

- But will you protect us? - Some girl asked.

- No, of course not," I turned to her, "I'm not even going to. We can teach you to defend yourselves, but if you don't have the will to resist, there's no point. You are doomed in our cruel galaxy to be a victim.

Next, I had to explain to some individuals where to sign up for the army, after which Sabine and I simply ignored the questions and ran away from the gawkers. When we got to the speeder, we jumped in and I pressed the pedal to the floor.

- The commander fixed her hair, "What a bunch of locals... are they not brakes at all?

- I'd say they're very friendly. Very. If we had a couple of drunken mercenaries in our place, we could have expected a full house.

- It's a good thing we don't drink," Sabina grinned, "By the way, what time is it already?

- Half past six. I suggest we stop and get something to eat. I'm not going to last long on dry rations... - I grinned, as well as the commander. We set off in the direction of the restaurant. We ignored the pubs, bars, cantinas and cafes - our fellow soldiers were already having fun there. That is, knowing them and knowing Sabina, I assume that our visit would not end well for them. We had to take the girl to a relatively expensive restaurant, where we ordered a portion of meat. A big, juicy steak was the ultimate dream after a hard day. And a salad and a bottle of local juice....

* * *

- Your Majesty? - Cyn walked into the chief's office, where I'd been summoned an hour after my shift ended.

- Cyn," I waved my hand in greeting to the commander-in-chief, "come on, tell me about it. How's it going?

- I'm fine," Shin sat down in the chair I'd offered him, "the fourth day is going well. Seventeen thousand locals have been recruited, the pace is good, but it's slowing down. The locals are pretty peaceful.

- Good. How's the propaganda going?

- With mixed success. I don't have any really good specialists.

- The specialists will be here in a week at the most. I'll make arrangements today, we have a good staff.

Shin nodded with an understanding look:

- I hope this will improve the situation. Mostly the flow of people wanting to join are young men, greenhorns, with big ambitions. Today, a couple of hours ago, the first ships from Corellia arrived. Military-grade corvettes and marauders.

- That's good. How long will it take you to train?

- If it's basic, about a month for infantry and two to three months for navy, with additional training on the ships.

Some are already qualified for the service they're offered, but very few. It's mostly youngsters, like I said... fourteen to seventeen years old.

- Okay," I nodded, "what about the militarisation situation? Have the weapons been distributed?

- We've started the process with the officials, and then we'll deal with the civilians. So far we've distributed five thousand blasters of various modifications as military aid - we've replaced the local guns with carbines.

- That's not enough," I gritted my teeth, "talk to the queen about getting her troops at least armed and trained by us. How is she, by the way?

- You mean Amidala? Not good. At least it looked like she had no face on her. She only performed for one day, yesterday, and then she shut herself away in the palace again. She spends most of her time preparing for war, but she's not very good at it....

- I see. Well, that's her business. Just ask her for as many soldiers as she can give you. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

- Yes," Shin stood up, "Your Majesty, one more thing. The installation of the planetary shield has been roughly completed. There's still some minor work to be done, but we can activate it now.

- That's good news," I smiled, "go ahead. And by the way, do some recon. We need to know exactly when the attack might happen.

- Apparently, they are currently calculating the change of the situation. I bet there will be Enark agents among the hired soldiers, but counterintelligence is not sitting idle either.

- Good. All in all, the operation has begun as we intended. Keep working in those areas - get people in and organise the Naboo fleet. Speaking of ships, that's where you come in. What are your main ships?

- The Gozanti, Your Majesty, it's the most massive and simple corvette available. There are about 300 of them in service at the moment.

- So be it. Proceed with the operation. Keep me in the loop, and keep the recon and localisation forces busy so the enemy doesn't surprise us... well, I'm sorry," I got up, "but duty calls. I've got to go on patrol today.

Shin grinned, and I left the office.

I had to explain why I'd been summoned to the commander's office to my fellow officers and to Sabina. The latter remained dissatisfied with me, but did not show it outwardly. In general, I was the only one who went on patrol with the girl now - I was put in the same pair with the commander. We didn't have any relations, but as fellow pilots we got along quite quickly. She sometimes told stories of her dashing youth - before coming to the Empire Sabine had served in the Mandalorian army, and even earlier she had been a mercenary. She had started that life at thirteen, like all Mandalorians, and had continued until she was in her twenties. Then she came to her senses, gave it up, returned to Mandalore and settled there. She was bored, and her skills weren't needed - she wasn't going to be promoted any time soon, so she volunteered for the Koros fleet.

In her personal life, she was as cold as ever. I didn't try to make a move - the sad experience of trying to build relationships with women sobered up my young man's violent head.

An unusual meeting took place today. My dog's watch - deep in the night. After flying it with Sabine, I took a speeder to Theed. Sabine had gone to train other pilots, who, in her opinion, were not flying well enough, and she left me alone, so I had the most free schedule of the whole squadron.

Tid is a beautiful city, mostly because it's not urbanised, there are no high-rise buildings, though the ones that are there are fairly basic and squat. Taking the speeder, I flew to the park I had in mind for my morning walks. The locals were just starting to wake up, so the park was deserted. I liked the place very much - it was quiet, peaceful, and a little chilly in the morning, but the uniforms were good for keeping out the cold. The park was located on the bank of a large canal, with duraplast benches by the parapet, on which dew appeared in the early morning.

Contrary to my expectation, I was not alone in the park. Just as I did, a girl was walking through the park, calm and immersed in her thoughts. Occasionally she looked around, but she never ceased her brooding. Beautiful, by the way-a thin, aristocratic face, an equally thin waist, and a classic Nabuan dress.

The Force was clearly mocking me, for before me was none other than Padme Amidala, Queen of Naboo. Disguised as a maid, walking around the park, unguarded. Probably took advantage of their negligence and went out alone. I can understand her - it's hard to get away from mine, too, but... I can take care of myself, but I can't take care of Padmé.

The girl came to the parapet and stood looking at the water surface of the canal. The air smelled fresh, and it was chilly. The faint mist of the morning was settling on my clothes, and they were quickly becoming cold. I, trying to tread quietly, approached the "maid" from behind and taking off my uniform tunic, carefully put it on her shoulders:

- You'll catch cold, lady," I smiled.

The lady who twitched at my touch took a deep breath. I took my hands away, whereupon she turned around.

- Good morning. Ah..." she noticed my form, "do I know you?

- Maybe," I answered evasively, "Hennia. Lieutenant of the Guard.

- Korde," she introduced herself without blinking an eye, "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?

- No, on the contrary," I smiled, "it's so lonely in the morning, despite the beauty of this garden. Will you keep me company?

The girl nodded, and the two of us watched the dawn for a few minutes in silence. Judging by her emotions, Padmé was overcome with romance. The sight of dawn over the Tide is truly mesmerising.

After a couple of minutes, Padme, pardon me, Corde, wrapped herself deeper into her tunic and turned to me:

- Isn't it a beautiful place?

- I've never seen anything as beautiful before.

- You're here.

- After duty," I smiled, "I patrol the space above us at night," I glanced up at the sky, "and come here in the morning. It's a beautiful place. What about you?

- I come here sometimes. It's my day off, so--

The girl had my first sword hanging from her belt in the folds of her dress. She's still got it, hasn't thrown it away yet. It was like a theatre of the absurd - she didn't recognise me, and I pretended not to recognise her. She knows me and I know her, but she doesn't know it yet. It's a funny thing. I'm going to try and make a move on her.

- Lady, do you have any plans for the weekend? You know, I prefer to spend my time differently than my colleagues, so I'm always alone....

She thought about it. The feelings I was feeling were a rare mishmash.

- I think not," Padme, or Corde, came to a confident conclusion and looked at me with interest.

- Would you care to accompany me? It's my first time on Naboo, and I'm still getting the hang of things and where to spend my free time.

We started down the garden path. Padmé started talking:

- You know, Naboo isn't such a nice place right now. There's a premonition of war hanging over the city....

- What can't be prevented must be turned to one's advantage," I shrugged, "war can be a good thing if it's won. Especially from my point of view, Enark, with its Hutt-controlled government, could become a constant threat to Naboo. It must be eliminated in any case.

- Eliminated? What about Enark himself? - Padme raised her eyebrows, "There are people living there.

- Well, there's no need to eliminate the people," I smiled, "but the government of Enark is completely under the control of the Hutts. I don't have to explain to you, lady, what will happen if the Hutts break through to Naboo. A quiet and peaceful life would be forgotten.

- You're right," she slumped her shoulders, "but I don't want a war.

- You wouldn't believe it, lady," I said sadly, "you sound like every military man I know. Nobody wants war, except young men who have never fought before, or lunatics. War is a necessity to break a deadlock in relations between nations, or a deadlock in domestic politics. Unfortunately, Naboo has the former case and Enark the latter. Naboo needs to break the deadlock in relations with Enark - they don't want to listen to diplomats, they only want slaves, drug warehouses, smugglers' dens. And, of course, money. The Enark government has so little control over the situation in the country that talking to them is useless - they are unable to solve anything.

- So, war is inevitable in any case," Padme sighed heavily, "I assumed that.

- Right. The corrupt government of Enark must be liquidated, only then we can say that the threat is over.

- I think you're overthinking this," Padme smiled, "all we need is a treaty that is favourable to us.

- And what kind of treaty do you think would guarantee the safety of Naboo? - I realised where she was going with this," she said, "disarming the Enark? The criminals have no respect for the law, they will arm themselves even under a total ban on armaments and fleets. But in any other scenario than the one I've described, drugs, smugglers, pirate raids, Naboo citizens being taken as slaves through Enark to Chommel. And Enark will be happy about it - you can't formally accuse them of breaking the treaty, because none of these "dashing men" will obey the government. Their government is a formality. They only dictate the will of those who will pay well, such as TF, or the Hutts. Therefore, they don't decide anything. The only solution I see is to bring Enark under the jurisdiction of Naboo and keep that sector free from the influence of the Hutts and others who previously had influence there. That would finally solve the Naboo problem.

Padme's booted up pretty badly. We've reached the speeder.

- Korde? - I brought her out of her reverie. "Let's leave these problems to the queens and emperors and spend the day in a good mood. Get in," I nodded at the speeder. And off we went.

* * *

The day with Corde was probably the most interesting I'd had in years. To think about it - we walked in the park, we went to the theatre, she showed me some interesting places. Erdva recorded it all on the cameras. The day was sunny, and it was only in the evening that the clouds began to gather. Having forecast a light rain, I invited Padme to a restaurant. She agreed, and I chose one of the ones I'd seen before. It was a rather unusual place by Naboo standards: it was located in a semi-basement, with only a few windows in the ceiling, and even that was just above the pavement. The room was not fancy, but not poorly furnished, and the lights were dimmed. Waiters and waitresses scurried along the large aisles between the tables. We took a seat in the corner, the waitress quickly ran up, took our order and in five minutes we were enjoying the cuisine of Nabuan chefs. I picked up a bottle of good wine for afterwards, and after crushing it for two, Corde and I had a nice chat about the meaning of life, the universe, and in general.

As a farewell, I dropped her off at a block about five minutes' walk from the palace. She asked me to stop here, apparently not wanting to show her face to the guards. I got out of the speeder, too, and walked over to her:

- Thank you. That was the best day I've had in many, many years..." I smiled sadly, "can we meet again?

- Definitely," she smiled as she came closer, "I have to admit, I too... for many years I couldn't afford to just enjoy life like that. Thank you," I stepped closer. "Korde came closer and covered her eyes slightly, leaning forward. Well, I took the initiative and for a few seconds we kissed. She wasn't too skilled at it, but sincere.

- You know," as we hugged, I whispered in her ear, "we've only known each other for a day, but it feels like years... you're nice to be around.

- You too," she replied and we kissed again. This time she took the lead.

When we had kissed enough and pulled away from each other, I felt just kilotons of embarrassment from her. "Corde" lowered her eyes, and asked in a quiet voice:

- We can meet again, can't we?

- Yes, of course," I gave her the call signs of my communicator. After Erdva wrote down her call signs, we parted. I was in the best of moods. Back in the sky at night, but I didn't want to sleep.

* * *

Naboo. A.S. A week later.

* * *

I spent the day taking an inside look at the whole process. Not that it was really necessary, but it wouldn't be unreasonable. The army was already up to two hundred and seventy thousand - we had to run a large-scale campaign, and the queen... Let's just say that after the day we'd spent together, Padme felt like she'd gone from zero to a hundred per cent energy - there was a blush on her cheeks, and she didn't show her clown outfit and makeup in public anymore. But she became much more active in helping us and preparing herself - most of the Nabuan recruits came after her statements and fervent speeches about the inevitability of war and the need to win the right to a peaceful life. It was powerful, and I got the feeling that she had been in a severe depression and had just come out of it. But I hadn't heard from her, and I wondered if I should ask Sien to put me in the Queen's retinue. But no, the retinue was the First Squadron, which provided security for Her Majesty's flights.

As far as I knew, Padme was already eighteen. She had six months left in her reign.

Arming the locals had gone up after the queen's help, too, and the pistols had been a real bargain. Not that it matters, but I know it's comforting to have a gun in the house. If anyone comes in, at least people won't have to accept their fate in silence. True, they gave out weapons only to people from eighteen, family, along with a course of young fighter.

The fleet under Sina's wise leadership grew by leaps and bounds - there was now a full-fledged large spaceport on the outskirts of Naboo, even further away from our acclamators. I'm ashamed to say, but Naboo didn't have a modern enough spaceport - all their warships - N-1 fighters were based either in the palace or in the port of the factory. That situation changed dramatically with the construction of the new military base. They had to bring in construction droids from what was left over from the Cinnagar construction, but the base was completed in a record three days. Concrete boxes, concrete field, no aesthetics. But it was a real military base - there were ships, mostly corvettes, up to a hundred metres long in bunkers under a layer of armoured durasteel and concrete. There were military-modified marauders, cargo ships, and transport and landing craft. Ships regularly flew out for exercises, and new waves of mobilisation were regularly recruited. As long as the budget was met - numerically our superiority over the enemy was reached - we outnumbered them twice in medium-sized ships - the enemy had two hundred Gozanti, a dozen and a half Marauders and two Dreadnought cruisers. The latter were particularly dangerous opponents that could damage even our Venators, not to mention a prefabricated fleet of medium-sized ships. Taking them out of action was the number one goal. Sin was forced to buy four dreadnoughts. They're old, but they're as reliable as axes. Sixteen thousand men went at once from the fleet on these giants, but the goal was achieved - the fleet received a double advantage and a means of suppressing the main ships of the enemy.

The main striking force was to become a landing corps. Its composition, strength, armament, changed on the fly - plans were born and died. At the moment we planned an attack on the planet with the subsequent clearing and holding of positions. The enemy had a very heterogeneous force, and one Hutt knows what he can roll out. The landing force consisted of droids on Juggernauts - huge multi-wheeled transport vehicles bristling with artillery. They were followed by the troop shuttles, second in number. The Juggernauts were already a familiar sight in the fields near Theed - they were regular manoeuvres and drills. So far they had been disinformation exercises, but the soldiers had already begun to be trained in the necessary actions. I liked the professionalism with which the boys were going about their work, but I realised that if we failed, we would not bring squadrons to Naboo and we would not participate in the war. Except in the most extreme case, however, the Naboans would have to decide the matter for themselves.

Somehow, by itself, the style of "militaria" came into fashion, at least little things like soldiers' boots or military jackets could be found on the streets. Gradually, people carrying weapons began to appear. It was not without mishaps. Some pubs, which provided good booze, made marvellous profits, but there were more and more fights. People were blowing off steam and showing what they had learnt - so far there had been no gunfights. Maybe a carbine under the bar might have been the only thing that made the arguers sensible, but they were only scratching their faces with their fists.

In general, there was the usual military mess, which happens when the military occupies a city.

After flying another watch, I received a message from Corde. The girl met me again in the park in the morning.

- Hi! - she smiled, - how was the service?

- Great. And how are you doing?

- Same. It's coming along. I have the day off today, so let's not talk politics...

- As the lady wishes, I have two days off, so I'm thinking what to do with them, - I approached and, smiling sincerely, offered, - will you make a campaign?

The lady did. Another beautiful day. The military buildup had certainly given her hope, so we didn't say a word about politics or war. Padme told me stories from her childhood, I, not having any, tried to talk in generalities about the Mandalorians, our culture, our history. Given that the Mandalorians were often overlooked in the galaxy, there was no place to learn the history of such an unusual and distinctive culture. But I managed to surprise her - I told her that Satine had suddenly decided to start a relationship with an ordinary Jedi, Ben Kenobi. Padme, who knew Ben well, immediately buzzed my ears about how she'd accompanied her majesty, how they'd met Ben, and everything else. Apparently, it hit a nerve.

Our second day didn't end the same way as the first - Padme wasn't as brave as I'd thought, so she didn't dare to continue the evening horizontally. But I, seeing her hesitation, was the first to step up. Invited her to a nice hotel where we got some privacy.

Padme is a really beautiful girl. Seriously, slim figure, nice face... I tried to be gentle, but still on my mind I quickly removed her clothes. The girl was shy beyond belief, but mustered up the courage. To my utter surprise, she was... virgin. Amazing next to her.

It really was marvellous. I didn't push too hard, but I didn't show myself to be a weakling either - after about an hour and a half of lovemaking, we went to bed....

In the morning I woke up first - I was used to sleeping for four hours, but I just lay there for an hour, stroking the sleepy girl's head. Judging by her emotions, it felt good. She didn't wake up right away; she purred, snuggled against me, and then opened her eyes.

- Morning, - I kissed the girl, and then, after experiencing a storm of emotions from her side, tried to caress the lady once again.

Morning sex is the most sensible. In my opinion. I have little experience, and even that is specific. Falling once more on the bed, we finally woke up and came to our senses. But a few minutes later, Padme jumped up screaming:

- I'm late!

I jumped up too and helped her find all the details of her clothes, before succumbing to the lady of the shower. Even though she was late, she waited for me for three minutes and we left the room. Padme wasn't exactly shy - she was generally in prostration, but extremely pleased at the same time. Surprisingly, no Jedi can read a woman properly - so many emotions, feelings, sometimes illogical and mutually exclusive, that it's impossible to understand anything there. It's like mixing a hundred bottles of different perfumes in one barrel. The morning passed in relative silence - we exchanged only short remarks, but it was enough for me to understand from her emotions. And for her, I had to make it clear once again that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it seriously. Before I let her go, I kissed her again and hugged her tightly, assuring her that everything was fine and that I would be happy if our relationship lasted much longer than this little war. Padme, judging by her emotions, was expecting that. I am, after all, a 'military' man, a rolling man, here today, gone tomorrow. She kissed me again and went away, completely satisfied with her life. Surprisingly, with war on the horizon, the queen had just come out of a depression and was happier every day.

* * *

Three weeks later

* * *

Patrols have become more frequent. Six hours a day, but seven days a week, and there are ten days in a galactic week. That's a seven-three schedule. Because of the possibility of attack, we had to keep more rapid response forces in the air. Now we patrolled in and out of orbit, while the cross-wings flew lower in the atmosphere, rarely venturing into space. Pilot training began in earnest - we spared neither engines, fuel, nor money - everyone selected for piloting flew two or three hours every day. Piloting was taught by experienced Mandalorians, so the pilots quickly became the elite of the Tide. They were forbidden to drink, and were constantly undergoing medical examinations, so everyone realised that they were the healthiest, smartest, most active boys. Their age varied from seventeen to thirty years old, gender did not matter. The city opened a hunting season for female pilots - it was prestigious to ring one. First of all, because there were no ugly ones - all of them were just like them, slim, beautiful, harmoniously built and had undergone a great course of training. But the men also got some.

The second most prestigious were navy personnel, i.e. personnel of warships, without division into specialities. They were paid a decent salary, so despite the impending war, Tid did not panic - the money was in the pockets of the locals, for whom the war was comparable to the Olympics. There was hardly so much money before the war and would be after. Although, if the war is successful, it may be no worse afterwards - for many layers of society the influx of money and subsequent enrichment became a sufficient justification for the war. And once they realised that they could get even more from the defeated, a powerful pro-war lobby was formed at the court in the person of merchants, industrialists and citizens who had bitten off their piece of dough. First of all, it is eight hundred thousand people of the army and navy, and these are not statistical observers, but really the healthiest, active, young citizens, the locomotive of society.

We saw Padmé more than once. She never revealed her incognito, and I did not intend to. However, we started to develop a relationship with the girl - even if it looked a little strange. Padme turned out to be quite an interesting person - a bit of a pacifist in her pacifist beliefs, surprisingly for a person of her age and position shy in some matters. However, this quickly passed - I've seen it before, the girl became a little more confident in her own abilities, became bolder, more determined, dropped some oblique stereotypes and became much more responsive in terms of personal relationships. That is, she became a woman, instead of a high-ranking, independent, but a girl. This pleased me - now she and I were on the same social and psychological level. Naboo was not the Empire of the Seven Planets, but that was about it. True, we were both playing at being a rank lower - it didn't make any difference. Like in maths - divide both divisors by the common divisor - the result is the same. However, the game itself amused me, and her on the contrary - frightened. After all, it is clear that sooner or later she will have to open the cards. I may have a flush royal, and she only has a rack, but the essence is the same.

I took her on a tour, even got her a tandem fighter and flew her over the Tide, showing her a couple of aerobatics. Padme got into it, and even tried to fly it herself, which I didn't stop her from doing.

It all came to an end one night. I was with Padme, and we, already tired, just lay next to each other, talking about the meaning of life. Well, she was the one talking. I've never understood it - men are exhausted after sex, but women are energised. She wants to talk and he wants to take a nap.

However, in this case I surrendered to the mercy of the winner and kept the conversation going. Suddenly, the communicator beeped. I ran, as I was, to my things and pulled out a wrist computer and pressed the call.

- Hello?

- Henya? This is Sabine. We're on alert number one, get to your cars now.

- I'm on my way, - I threw the communicator away and looked at Padme, who had also got out of bed and was looking for her knickers.

- Action alert. I'm sorry, but I ran away," I hurriedly pulled on my clothes and wanted to get out. But Padme held me back, hugging me goodbye and kissing me hard. I had to calm her down a little and run out.

The military base was a hive of activity. Running into my aircraft carrier on the ramp I immediately headed for the hangar. Erdwa was waiting for me already in the fighter jet, Sabine was speaking in front of our group.

- Henya, you're long. Run march to listen to the briefing.

I stood up with the others.

- So, - the commander began, - the SDF* has detected the advance of a combined enemy squadron towards us. The squadron is led by the Dreadnought, the main forces are the Gozanti and the Marauders. Those are our number one targets, the Crusaders will take care of the small stuff. They're coming in through hyper, leaving in 40 minutes in the Chommel sector. Quantitatively, a hundred Gozanti, two dozen Marauders, five to ten ships of similar class, one dreadnought as the main strike force. Against them will come a similar force of Naboo - two dreadnoughts, fifty corvettes, one aircraft carrier, ours. But we'll fly out first, towards the enemy - our task is to hold them off near the exit point, without getting hit by the Dreadnought. Taking into account that this cruiser is extremely oaky, and you are manoeuvrable, it will be enough to stay close to the enemies, not to be hit, to dodge in time. They will not dare to shoot at a dense cluster of their ships. And even if they did, it would be their loss. Presumably their target is Chommel, a very convenient staging area for an attack on Naboo. With half the fleet coming at us, I'm guessing we'll meet about three hundred small targets - ignore them, nothing. They don't have weapons that can penetrate your defences, and God forbid you waste missiles on that scum. Any questions?

- Yes, sir. Which targets should we attack first, the Marauders or the Gozanti?

- Whichever comes up. Take them all out, our job is to hold them off until the main group arrives, after all, our fighters are much faster than the squadron. They are already in space, but before they crawl, before they turn into battle order... More? - Sabine looked at our twelve faces. Or rather, eight faces and three pretty girls' faces, and sent them on their way.

And then... then it was off to work.